RENO, Nev.— A dominant effort by the Aces bullpen Thursday night lifted Reno to a 5-2 victory over the Fresno Grizzlies at Aces Ballpark.
Four Reno relievers combined for 7.0 shutout innings on the evening, as the Aces trimmed their magic number to eight with 11 games remaining in the regular season.
Aces starter Joe Martinez allowed two runs—one earned—on five hits over two innings before being removed in the third after being struck in the wrist by a line drive. Mike DeMark (4-5) came out of the bullpen and worked three scoreless frames to collect the victory. Sam Demel dealt a scoreless sixth, Jensen Lewis worked two scoreless frames, and Jonathan Albaladejo slammed the door in the ninth for his 23rd save.
Grizzlies starter Wilmin Rodriguez (4-5) was pinned with the defeat, surrendering four runs on eight hits over 4.1 innings of work.
At the dish for Reno, Cole Gillespie and Konrad Schmidt led the way with three hits apiece. Taylor Harbin doubled twice and drove in two runs for the Aces.
The third of this five-game series is slated for Friday night at Aces Ballpark. RHP Daniel Cabrera (0-0, 1.50 ERA) gets the nod for Reno, and the Grizzlies counter with LHP Brian Burres (4-6, 5.74 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. PT.
